


FabFebFive - Gordon

by JMount74



Series: FabFebFive2021 [3]
Category: Thunderbirds
Genre: Gen
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-02-21
Updated: 2021-02-22
Packaged: 2021-03-18 02:42:17
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 5
Words: 4,632
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/29602638
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/JMount74/pseuds/JMount74
Summary: Five prompts for Gordon
Series: FabFebFive2021 [3]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/2139951
Comments: 13
Kudos: 15





	1. You Did What?

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Gordon's explaining a rescue to his dad

Jeff was sat at the desk, glancing over the reports from over the years he had missed. His mom had cleared him to be up and about, but only for short periods, and Jeff was taking the time to find out what had happened to his boys while he was gone.

Some of the reports were frankly horrifying, Scott’s clipped no-nonsense method of writing leaving much for his imagination to fill in. At the moment his eldest two were in the hangers, checking over their respective ‘birds after their space journey. John was up on Five, getting it ready for Jeff to spend time with him in the hope it would help him adjust to the gravity of Earth.

Gordon and Alan were currently in the sunken lounge, battling what looked like a zombie apocalypse. As Jeff opened a random file and began reading, Gordon decided it was time for a break.

Wandering over to his dad, the novelty of having him home still fresh, Gordon perched on the desk and asked what rescue his dad was reading now. ‘Something to do with a Laughing King?’ Jeff asked, and Gordon blushed. It did not go unnoticed by his father. ‘I tell you what, why don’t you tell me about it rather than me reading the file.’ Alan’s head shot up, and he stopped playing to listen in.

Gordon spluttered. Did he really want to discuss this particular rescue? Jeff nodded, and Alan slyly added that Gordon could always tell him about the Supreme Barrier Reef rescue instead. Hastily Gordon agreed to stick to the Laughing King.

So Gordon launched into explaining how he had received Parker’s message that Penny – he meant Lady Penelope – needed help on this expedition. He had come prepared with everything he could think of, including his rebreather (of course) and how Parker had been disappointed it had been him rather than Scott or Virgil, not that that put Gordon off, he was used to that happening.

They had entered the maze with the smarmy professor and soon it became apparent that the tomb was indeed booby trapped. It didn’t take long for the professor to leave them in the tomb while he escaped, trapping them and forcing them to go forward.

Gordon took delight in explaining the intricacies of the various traps they encountered, proudly explaining how he had saved Penny – he meant Lady Penelope’s – life by throwing her to the ground with him on top.

Jeff was horrified. ‘You did what?’ he exclaimed. ‘I pushed Penny, er Lady P, down on the ground and I leapt on top of her to save her.’ Jeff rolled his eyes. If he knew Penny, and he did, she would not have liked that one little bit. But there was more.

By the time Gordon finished explaining how he had swum under to find the release so that they could continue to the final room, and how they thought they were going to die – a dramatic statement that was so totally his Gordon that Jeff smiled fondly at him – he was sure Gordon couldn’t have shown himself up any more, but at least it had ended well.

Alan sat through the whole story without saying anything, although he did snigger in places. Once the story had finished, and his dad had mentioned how well he had done, and how proud he was of Gordon, Alan finally piped up.

‘Tell Dad about the time you borrowed One to find Lady P’s dog.’ Gordon glared at Alan.

‘You did what?!’ Jeff bellowed.


	2. Bat

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Birthday presents are always hard to choose

Virgil’s birthday was coming up and Gordon was at a loss. What the hell do you buy your older brother when there is so much he can do? Grandma had told him that Virgil would love anything, but Gordon wanted it to be special because Virg had been helping him with his school work now Scott and John had left.

What to get him, though, was a puzzler. Gordon decided to list his options.

1) Music.

He could buy him some blank music sheets, that stuff was expensive, and his brother was always running out. Nah, not special enough. He could go to the vintage store and buy some old music score. No, Gordon didn’t know enough about music to be confident he’d get the right stuff.

Scratch music.

2) Art

Gordon could buy any number of canvases or papers or paints and know that Virgil would use them, but again these were not special enough. A book on his favourite painters, a book on techniques, both were deemed not special.

Scratch art.

3) Engineering

There was a huge Meccano set Gordon had seen that he knew Virgil would love, but he had a feeling that Alan had been eyeing that, and he didn’t want to steal Allie’s thunder. He could buy some tools but this seemed silly if there was no end project in mind.

Scratch engineering.

Why was his brother so hard to buy for!

In the end Gordon decided he needed help. That evening he squirrelled himself away in his room citing homework as the reason and put in a joint call to Scott and John. They were both delighted to hear from him and between the three of them they put their thinking caps on.

It was Gordon who hit on the answer. Virgil had been explaining about how his latest project was working with clay, and that he was really enjoying using a different medium to express his artistic nature. The conversation carried on late until all three had a joint plan for their presents.

Virgil’s birthday was a raucous outside affair. Being in the middle of the school vacation time both Scott and John were home, and the now sixteen-year-old Virgil had thoroughly enjoyed having his older brothers home. Although Scott had disappeared the first week he was back, working on some project in one of the barns, it felt like the family were back to normal. Now it was time for presents. The barbeque was over, everyone stuffed to the gills – literally in Gordon’s case – and Jeff got the ball rolling. 

Handing over a small envelope that jangled, everyone watched as Virgil opened it and pulled out a set of keys. Sixteen meant he could get his full licence now, and the keys meant only one thing. Dad had bought him a car. He shouldn’t have been so surprised, after all both Scott and John had had the same, but Virgil was surprised anyway. The Chevrolet truck now sitting in the driveway caused whistles, and the three eldest boys had to be dragged away so that the other presents could be presented.

Grandma came next, with a brand new toolbox that just so happened to also contain everything Virgil might need to fix his car.

Normally presents were given in age order, but the next three brothers insisted Alan went next, causing raised eyebrows all round. Alan had indeed bought the giant Meccano set, and Virgil grinned and ruffled his hair, knowing full well that he would be building stuff with his youngest brother.

Then it was time for Scott, John and Gordon. The trio led Virgil, with everyone else following, down to the barn that Scott had been working on. He paused at the door to make sure Virgil understood that this joint present had been all Gordon’s idea before presenting the key to him. Virgil was intrigued.

Inside, the barn was now a pottery workshop.

There was a double sink in a long countertop. Next to that along one wall was a rack of shelves containing some tools. In the centre where the best light could be had was a pottery wheel. And in the corner was a small kiln. Some bags of clay were on the bottom shelf, and everything needed to start was here.

Virgil’s mouth remained open as he took it all in. He hadn’t realised that Gordon had been listening when he was talking about his clay work in class and had recognised a budding new interest. The family looked on fondly as Gordon gave Virgil a tour of his new workshop, describing the tools and various bits and pieces, how Scott and John had bought the majority of the things there, but he had bought the wheel and tools.

For some peculiar reason Gordon was particularly proud of a pile of thin flat discs. Made from different materials, Gordon explained their importance to the potter, totally forgetting that Virgil probably knew all this already, and Virgil indulged his brother’s chatter, listening intently as Gordon described each pile of bats and what they were for.

It must have cost his three brothers a fortune in both time and money to set this up, but Virgil was delighted and there really was no better way Gordon could have thanked his tank of a brother for all his help over the last year.


	3. A Memory

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Sometimes something more intricate than a picture is needed for memories to stir.

The door was wooden, painted a bright canary yellow. There was set in the door a stained-glass window that portrayed some roses in a red and a matching pink, with two-tone green leaves and lead that wound around the glass like vines. The fittings were brass and highly polished. A memory of Virgil whispering that they were art deco roses.

The hallway was polished wooden floors in an oaky colour, with panels going a third of the way up the wall, slightly darker than the floor and with large squares along the length of it. ‘Georgian style’ Virgil whispered in his ear again. The plain walls appeared, a rich red colour that complimented the pinky-red reflection of the roses on the flooring from the door.

It was a large open space, with stairs on the right of the door and five doors leading off it. The doors in the hallway were pristine white gloss, with four panels, two slightly longer on the bottom and two above, again the fittings were shiny brass. The stairs leading up were wood with a central red carpet held in place by brass rods with a small fleur-de-lis.

The first door led to the living room. The same wooden floor, which was found throughout the first floor except the kitchen, was complimented by two large rugs. The rug under the window, the designated ‘play area’ when they had been young, was in deep blue. It was a thick, shagpile rug, large enough for three small children to lie on their backs with their heads on the rugs and only their feet on the floor. The walls were painted deep blue up to a third, with a glossy white chair rail, then pale blue to the white ceiling. There was a plain concave moulding around the top.

The second area had a matching rug, but in pale blue, and positioned around the rug were two huge and deep leather couches in ink-blue, situated at right angles to each other. One faced the chimney breast with the marble mantlepiece and real fire, while the other faced the wall with the large TV hanging on it. There was an old wooden rocking chair that sat in the gap between the two areas, so old that the varnish had been worn off, and upon it was tied a seat cushion in white with tiny blue flowers. The walls were decorated with lots of pictures of children in various degrees of growing up.

The second door led to the lounge, which they had always called ‘the entertaining room’. It was larger than the living room and contained a sea-green rug upon which was a large mahogany table with twelve matching chairs. The walls were a plain pale sage colour, and there was a large Welsh dresser along one wall that held an array of fine china, both on display and in the cupboards. There were only three pictures in the room. A large portrait of Jeff and Lucy on their wedding day hung opposite a painting of the five boys, all sitting on the floor on the deep blue rug. The third picture was a sheaf of lilies in a vase, soft white and a green only a few shades darker than the walls.

The middle door led to the kitchen. It was a typical farm kitchen. Large oak table in the centre with eight chairs around it, farmhouse sink and white shaker cabinets. Large range cooker. The floor was cream stone that matched the granite countertops. The fridge was large, huge even, but then there were seven people who had lived there at one time, five of which were growing fast. The area around the sink was terracotta tiled, and what wall space was showing matched the tiles.

The fourth door led to the study. Dad’s domain. Shades of blue and oak wood filled a room dominated by a huge desk with a leather swivel chair, with two walls lined with bookshelves and a third covered with pictures of the family. The only time they ever came in here was when they had been bad enough that they needed a good talking to.

The fifth led to the downstairs bathroom, a small room with white and blue striped wallpaper and a shelf with a lighthouse on. There was an octopus-shaped mirror on the wall.

Upstairs, the floor was the same wood, but the hall was now cream with yellow daffodils and sunflowers. There were five rooms with the same white doors and a linen closet. 

Scott and John shared the front room. It was, predicably, shades of blue, with the area around John’s side covered in astronomical posters and Scott’s side dominated by a Lockheed Martin F-35 Lightning II and a couple of smaller pictures of an F-15 Eagle and an F-22 Raptor.

Next to their room was Virgil’s. He was the only one who didn’t share, mainly because he snored awfully and because his art paraphernalia was extensive, even by the time he was seven and Alan had been born. His room was a collection of greens and yellows, one wall displaying artwork while the other three were bare apart from a mirror.

Across the hall, opposite Scott and John’s room was Gordon and Alan’s room, carefully divided in half. Gordon’s half was covered in wallpaper that was the sea from floor to ceiling, a wide variety of sea life swimming along. Alan’s half was cream with red cars and rockets stencilled on curtesy of Virgil and Mom.

Next to their room was the family bathroom, a large room done out in dark sea-green and pale aqua-green shades with a large white bathtub. Again the mirror in this room was shaped into a sea animal, a couple of sea turtles swimming along the wall.

The last room was the master bedroom. Calming shades of duck-egg blue and cream, with gold highlights. Large king-size bed, built-in closets containing clothes, and their own bathroom. A huge collage of the family arrayed the largest wall.

There were ghosts of his Mom, sitting in the rocking chair watching him and Alan playing under the window in the living room while the three eldest were at school, of her getting cookies out of the oven while Scott, John and Virgil were seated at the kitchen table doing their homework, of her giving him a bath and reading them a bedtime story. 

His dad, sitting on the couch watching the game, with Scott and Virgil either side and him on his lap, throwing him into the air while Mom was scolding him to stop, examining the medal he’d won on his first competitive race with delight on his face. 

Scott, laying on his bed, tossing his baseball up into the air and catching it, John on the roof stargazing, Virgil playing the piano, Alan screaming because he needed a bath and didn’t want one. The five of them running around the fields beyond the farmhouse, carefree and happy, Alan riding on Scott’s shoulders as they raced home for milk and cookies.

Gordon wandered around the hologram, the images so accurate he could smell his mother’s perfume, the laundry detergent she used, even the chocolate-chip cookies and apple pies she used to bake. When he turned to John there were tears running down his face and pulled his brother into a tight hug.

‘Thank you for the memory,’ he whispered hoarsely into John’s ear. John hugged his brother back. ‘Do you think it will help Allie?’ Gordon nodded. ‘If anything can help Alan remember Dad, this will.’


	4. Delightful

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Gordon being...Gordon with a little help from Alan.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thanks to Soniabigcheese for helping

‘Hey, Alan. Alan. Hey ALAN.’

Alan sighed and put aside his homework to see what his brother wanted. Half of him was glad to put learning aside but the other half was wary. What did Gordon want? His squid of a brother had been miserable all day after Lady P. had been called back to London on urgent business. They had been due to attend an event that required eveningwear – sure, both Gordon and Penny had told him what it was actually about, but he couldn’t remember – and Gordon had got halfway ready (read socks and underpants) when the evening had been cancelled.

This had better be good.

He looked up from the couch he was sitting on to see Gordon in the corner wearing…a towel? Alan was sure his eyebrows had disappeared into his hair. His brother was completely wrapped up in one of his beach towels, but even that couldn’t hide the fact that Gordon obviously had something else on underneath. The towel seemed to flare out from his hips.

What on earth was he trying to get Alan involved in now?

Still, never let it be said that Alan Tracy was not game for a laugh, and he followed Gordon back around the corner out of sight of the sunken lounge where Scott was currently discussing something or other with John and Lady P. Once safely away from prying eyes, whoever that could be, Gordon dropped his towel and Alan’s eyes tried unsuccessfully to pop out of his head.

Gordon was stood there in Penny’s evening dress. Complete with heels. And scarf. He turned his back on Alan and immediately he could see the problem. No way was his brother able to zip the back of the dress up, and Alan set about it with gusto. By the time he had finished zipping Gordon into the dress and helped him to adjust the scarf around his shoulders they were both in giggles.

Damn, his brother looked good in a dress! And the heels accentuated his calf muscles. Alan didn’t want to know how Gordon could walk in those; they made his feet hurt just looking at them.

Gordon made his way back to the lounge and walked part way around the perimeter before he realised he was not alone. He gave himself a running commentary as if he was on the catwalk.

‘And here we have a Squid boi in his best kept secret: a lovely dark raspberry-pink ruched prom dress, cut on an A-line so it flares nicely at his hips. Complementing it is a saffron-yellow shawl-scarf and clutch bag, and gold strappy heels to accent the…’ he tailed off as he noticed Scott staring at him.

But it wasn’t until he turned to the centre of the room where both John and Penny were holographically present that Gordon flushed a bright shade of red that definitely clashed with what he was wearing.

‘Darling, you look positively delightful,’ Penny drawled. ‘Just get Alan to fetch my pink pearl necklace and my travel case, it has all my make-up in, and you’ll look positively ravishing.’

Gordon fled.


	5. Bring On The Wonder

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Gordon's struggling with his first week in the city until Scott arrives to show him ways to cope.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> For the prompt: City.
> 
> My first songfic. Song is Bring On the Wonder by Susan Egan.

_Can’t see the stars anymore living here  
Let’s go to the hills where the outlines are clear  
Bring on the wonder, bring on the song  
I pushed you down deep in my soul for too long_

He hated the city. Living here, even if it was only temporary, was horrific. It was noisy, messy and chaotic. Gordon knew that if he said this to his older brothers they would laugh at him – after all, what was Gordon Cooper Tracy if not messy, noisy and chaotic?

But he hated it here. International Rescue was going strong, he was still Thunderbird Four, but with dad talking about retiring they had all stepped up to run Tracy Industries between them, taking it in turn to attend meetings where only a Tracy would do. How the hell Scott had done this single-handedly while their dad had been missing whilst he was running iR was something Gordon could never understand – and would forever be grateful for.

It was his turn. One whole week he had to live here in New York. He hated it. He missed his home so much. It surprised even himself that one of the things Gordon missed the most was the stars. On the island, even back home in Kansas, the stars studded the night sky, and he could quite often be found floating in the pool and just staring at them. But here, there was nothing but black sky. And helicopters and airplanes, but the stars were hidden mostly by the light pollution.

It was only his first night! How the hell was he going to get through the rest of the week?

_Fell through the cracks at the end of our street  
Let’s go to the beach, get the sand through our feet  
Bring on the wonder, bring on the song  
I pushed you down deep in my soul for so long_

He wanted to scream. So he grabbed a cushion off the couch, buried his face in it and let rip.

One of the things that he had insisted on was a pool. The spacious apartment on the top of Tracy Towers was all well and good for his brothers, but Gordon needed the water, and if he was going to live here one-two weeks in the year then he wanted a pool. Of course they had built one, an everlasting pool that had the most amazing views over the city, if one was inclined to look, and Gordon ploughed through it for hours, relieving the stresses of the day.

It wasn’t the same as the pool back home. Hell, it wasn’t as good as the first pool he’d had in Kansas. He missed his pool with its’ subtle lighting. He missed swimming in the ocean, the feel of sand in between his toes and he hurtled down the beach and ran into the water.

Three more days. He could hold it together for three more days. He could. He really could. A small sob ripped from his throat before he got himself together.

Scott glanced over at Virgil, listening to his brother playing arpeggios and marvelling at the speed and precision of his fingers. His brother had his eyes closed and was lost in the music. At least, he seemed to be. Virgil chose that exact moment to aske Scott what was up, and he shook his head in fond exasperation. They knew each other so well.

‘How do you think Gordon’s coping?’ he asked. Scott might have been delighted to now share his TI duties, but he was worried that Gordon wasn’t going to cope being cooped up. Virgil stopped playing. ‘He’d tell us if he wasn’t coping.’ Scott shot him a sceptical look. ‘I’m not too sure of that. He’s a Tracy, stubbornly sticking something out is inbuilt into us.’ Virgil nodded. ‘Why don’t I head over there and give him some company for a day or two?’ he offered, knowing full well that this was what Scott was thinking of doing, and sure enough Scott refused his offer and announced he was going himself.

Scott was worried that not only was Gordon cooped up without his usual outlets he was also effectively on his own, and gregarious Gordon would hate that the most. Decision made, Scott headed off to the study to clear it with Dad, who would definitely agree, and to rearrange the next day’s schedule.

He timed it so that Gordon would be just about having dinner after his third full day. Scott had purposely not called ahead, he wanted to check how well his brother was coping, and if Gordon knew he’d put on the façade of everything being fine. Letting himself into the apartment, he could hear Gordon tearing it up in the pool, and he dumped his bags and made his way over to watch.

It said something for Gordon’s frame of mind that Scott stood watching him for almost half an hour before Gordon even realised someone else was there. The shock of suddenly not being alone almost caused an accident, but he recovered quickly. Scott’s grin said he knew, though.

It wasn’t until dinner was almost over that Scott broached the reason he was there, and for once Gordon didn’t bluster and hide. ‘I hate it here, Scott,’ he said, shuddering. ‘How do you cope with it all?’ Scott smiled. ‘Firstly, I call you guys back home all the time and chat. Biggest way to help combat being alone here. Secondly, I look for familiarity. What do you miss?’ Gordon barked a laugh. ‘The ocean, the beach. The stars.’ Scott nodded. ‘Tomorrow I’m going to take you out and show you a different side to the city.’

Gordon slept soundly for the first time since arriving.

_Bring on the wonder, we got it all wrong  
We pushed you down deep in our souls for too long_

The next day Scott took him to the Hayden Planetarium, and they spent just an hour staring at the Digital Universe Atlas. The building was open until 5.30pm but had been known to delay closing for a private screening for both Scott and John, and as long as Gordon gave them notice, they would be more than happy to accommodate him as well.

Scott then took Gordon to the beach. He had never considered that New York had a beach, even as part of his brain facepalmed itself. They took off their shoes and socks and just walked along the sand as Scott explained that there were 14 miles of beach and several areas where Gordon could swim if he wanted. Scott had no problem scheduling Gordon’s visits in accordance with when the beaches were open.

They finished off at a burger bar, just chatting generally about nothing in particular. Until Gordon suddenly said, ‘I miss Kansas.’ Scott put down his burger and waited for more. ‘I mean, we never talk about home, about growing up on the farm, about what a wonderful life we used to lead there.’ Scott nodded. It had been something he had contemplated the first time he had stayed in New York too.

‘I miss stargazing with John on the roof, and swimming in the pool with Alan and Virgil, and running through the fields with you.’ Scott sighed. ‘I guess we just pushed that part of our lives deep down inside of us. Thinking of Kansas as home means thinking of Mom.’ Gordon nodded. ‘Is that such a bad thing now?’ he asked, holding his breath in case he upset Scott. His oldest brother never spoke about their mom, ever.

Their mom. She’d been gone longer than she’d been with them, and yet it still hurt so much. Maybe Gordon was right. Maybe that part of him, of them, had been pushed down for too long. After all, she was an integral part of International Rescue and the direction their lives now took.

‘This was not the direction I thought that today would take,’ murmured Scott, ‘but maybe you’re right. It’s about time we talked about Kansas, about growing up there, about Mom.’  
He reached across and squeezed Gordon’s hand.

‘Do you remember what Mom’s favourite song was?’


End file.
